Spotify's New Release Radar Is Freaking Brilliant

For the first time in human history, you can expose yourself to great new music without first having to listen to some haughty snob exclaim, “What? You haven’t heard of blank? What do you do with yourself?”

On Friday, Spotify released a new facet for its musical streaming service. Release Radar is a fresh new twist on one of Spotify’s most popular feature, Discover Weekly.

The two features are designed to work in tandem. On Monday, Discover Weekly combs through Spotify’s extensive list of music in order to deliver a weekly playlist of songs designed to match a user’s specific tastes. And on Friday, Release Radar uses that same data to try and pick which new releases might best suit an individual. So far, the response to the release has been extremely positive.

From week to week, the length of the playlist that Release Radar generates might vary depending on which artists have released new singles, though it will max out at two hours. However, the feature is perfect for those music lovers who have a tendency to miss one or two singles while they’re focused on the onslaught of new albums released week over week. In the potentially granular world of music fandom, Release Radar could prove to be an invaluable asset to the diehard music fan.

As with Discover Weekly, the algorithm powering Release Radar is designed to evolve with the listener, refining its musical selection over a longer timeline. Most people seem to think that the more experimental aspect of the release — its ability to suggest new artists — is pretty spot-on. Even if it wasn’t, though, Release Radar would get lots of points because it’ll help ensure that you never miss another new single from your favorite artists.

Building off a strong start, Release Radar could potentially eclipse the popularity of Discover Weekly, an astounding feat considering Discover Weekly’s recent 5 million song milestone.

Given increased competition from Apple Music, Spotify is having to use everything it can think of to stay relevant in the ever-changing online landscape. If initial fan reports are any indication of the new feature’s future, it looks like Release Radar is a step in the right direction.